Rain with Kids in Tow= GOD HELP ME!

Camino Day 11- St. Irene to Santiago
22 km

How many adjectives do you know for rain? Pouring, pelting rain and we had to bike it. The trouble with Auberges is no matter what you are out at 8am so they can clean. In Galacia the province at the end of the camino they say it rains every 3 days at least. So far we are 2 out of 3. In fact if you do some you tubing you will find that all the horrendous weather photos are from Galacia. In our experience most of the ill vibed peregrinos and dirty aubergies are also here. Today- 20 km’s of downpour with rain ponchos that we bought from the Chinese import store, Kathryn’s was pink, and then the blue children braced for the wind, cold and sideways sheets of rain.

Not quite the way one wants to enter the Holy City but so it was. We were singing “just keep biking, just keep biking” a la finding nemo, and it actually got us through. Entering Santiago is mainly downhill. Which in this kind of rain meant that Rob had to slow his bike with his foot because his breaks had total failure. Finding our place to stay was also a bit crazy in this much rain.

We went all the way to the Cathedral but it was closed because Mass was in progress. So we took the shivering kids and searched for a half an hour for an auberge. It was raining so hard you couldn't bike near the buildings because it rain from the rooftops would knock you off your bike. It was not my best of half hours but “we just kept biking." Well we found the hostel which is an old seminary that has 800 beds! Panic sets in as we imagine the kids waking up 795 hostile people. We whisper a prayer,'god please let them have private rooms!'

We squeaked up 6 flights of stairs. That is the number of flights required to assend to the third floor when you have 20 ft ceilings. It is quite the place they have running and yet we still didn’t have our own room but had to share with a less than happy French man who did not want to be sharing with a family…can you blame him?

This trip has had so many see-saws. My derriere no longer screams from getting on a bicycle each day but I’m so done with public toilets without toilet paper, oh wait, aren’t I about to head to Africa?
I also feel like we’re just beginning to explore and adventure as a family, this nomadic life, and yet the kids also need routine, school and rooms that they don’t have to share with twenty people; we haven’t had enough time with Ruth or had enough time to contemplate or “just be” on this Camino because so much of our life has been about daily survival. So now we will take some time to hang our clothes one more time. To eat, sleep and figure out how we will get our bikes back to Madrid. Now for a hot shower!

Santiago in the Sun

Sept.2010 The end of the Camino.

Here I am. Arrived at this city on what would have been my Grandma Kerr’s 102nd birthday is she were with us. I just had a moment. I woke up to a sunny and gorgeous Santiago today. It looks a lot like Florence with its white houses and red roofs. We paid for an extra day at the massive pilgrim dorm so that we could have one day without having to move our stuff and the ability to dry out. We walked to the city around tenish moseying through a great market on our way. My kids liked the Octopus.

We didn’t get our Compostella Certificates because the line-up was too massive. Instead we had a café-con-leche and then went to find some shoes for Kathryn because hers were still soaked form yesterday. We were pointed to the Spanish version of Toronto’s Yorkville with 89 Euro leather boots for toddlers, so we quickly hi-tailed it for a local dollar store for mini-mouse flip-flops.

We had two funny conversations today. Rob talked with a pilgrim from Uganda who was a lawyer whose husband was running for political office. She said she had to walk the Camino or lose her mind;) She was inspired by what we were doing and said God would answer all our needs because we had made such a long journey. Rob said he didn’t know God was into sacrificial bartering.

Then we got stopped in the middle of the street by a German man who crossed the street to shake our hands in congratulations. He had literally been on the Santiago path all the way from leaving his front door in Germany! And yet, he was shaking our hands because he thought that what we had done was unbelievable.
We had lunch on the steps of Santiago Cathedral with donairs and falafel in hand. We got to meet up with a lot of pilgrims who made it here today. The Germans with the bloodblisters had to make their last section on the bus.

The old lady from Chicago who walked all the way from France at eighty-five, The Parisian man who pinched my kids cheeks and called them “pere-kids” for the first time, the retired couple from Germany who are trying to figure out what to do with their retirement, Jules, Paulina, Ashley from Australia, so many wanderers who shared a part of their lives with us over these past ten days. Yesterday I just had my fatigue to offer, but today all I can offer is thanks.

When you think you should stop....go further??

Camino Day 10 Melide-St. Irene
26 km

Sept 2010
Left our hovel of an auberge at 9:30 after breakfast of bread and chocolate and then hit the road. Biking today was painful. Ruth had a bad cold but was bearing it silently and we had to take the trail because the hiway was too intense and full of transport trucks. The trail was beautiful and had a series of Eucalyptus Forrests which made me miss Israel. We were happy in the forrest but then the rain came. It took us out on our last 17 K’s with no aubergue’s in sight. We stopped for lunch in Arzua which is known for it’s soft white cheese which I was the only one to appreciate. There was a big town square where a big band played to my Dancing Cammie’s heart’s content. We felt good but then…17 K’s later we were back on the bikes and ended our journey on the side of the highway and the rain started. The choice was go back, or keep going till the next auberge.

5 km didn't seem like much at the time. But judging by our fatigue it was actually monumental. We kept asking, 'how much further.' RAIN. 'not far', the answer. Which when your tired and wet and the kids are cranky in their trailer.....not far is definitely too far. Eventually we would find a tiny municipal auberge in St. Irene because the rain was pelting down so hard. We would have rather packed it in the and continue on the mud paths. Final mind game was making it to St. Irene’s and fortunately it was all downhill!

This auberge was great and only 5 Euro’s! We surprisingly met our British friend Jules there who had done 95 K of walking in the last two days! He and ruth were exchanging recipes’ for cold medication which was healrious. We talks to people from Spain and Stockholm and had some good talks about “the way” and the rhythm of life it requires from you.

We’re kind of all in shock that tomorrow is the end. Trying to let it not end to soon and yet there is always that pull to “just get there.” 'For the walkers who have been out now for 5 weeks following arrows the end is both a relief and a shock. To have now slowed life to this pace and then suddenly...'There is a flight on Wed.' 'I am back to work the day after.' What a shock. What a horrible way thing to suddenly be faced with the lightning speed of reentry into life. Even for us we feel this after only 10 days. How will we be when this is all over? Tonight though is a fun night, full of camaraderie hanging out wet clothes and sleep! Sleep comes quickly to everyone.